Comments:The pilot to SOSF is pretty good, but, as we discussed quite a while ago, it falls down badly at the end because of the booga-booga cult baloney connected with the actor who is the villain. There are issues connected with this ending which have to do with explaining how the actor is connected to people elsewhere in the plot (Holly, her brother, etc.). I downloaded the book that this pilot is based on from Amazon, and it does explain a few things that are kind of glossed over in the show. For example, the brother, who worked in a gas station, wanted to sell the actor a set of new tires, so he opened the guy's trunk to check the spare and saw the stuff from the murdered kid that the cops were looking for, which was in the news around that time. This and some similar important details >are< referred to in the pilot, but they are not dealt with in a really obvious way. The woman who wrote this book must have made a shitload of money, because every episode of the show mentioned that it was based on her book in the end credits!

Added: August 12 2017 02:45:56 PM

Submitted byName: Mr. MikeFrom: Vancouver

Comments:Anti-spam measures have been implemented with "fire and fury" on the site, LOL. Do NOT under any circumstances post links or e-mail addresses, or your access to the forum will be blocked. Also try to avoid certain other terms having to do with "dink drugs" and similar things. It is very important that you keep a copy of things you post to the forum, so if there is a problem, I can examine the posting and determine what went wrong. If you get blocked from posting, then contact me through the e-mail address on the main page of the site.

Added: Thursday 10 August 2017 14:34:51 MST

Submitted byName: John ChergiFrom: Pittsburgh PA

Comments:Streets OF SF Pilot Part IIFarr is constantly revisited Columbo style by Keller & Stone. He returns to his boat and finds Holly's belt and some of her things. Farr becomes the prime suspect and does his own detective work. He finds her brother Del who might have seen the bearded killer working at the gas station. Del is in hiding and drugged out and refuses to reveal what was in the trunk to the lawyer Farr. The killer follows Farr and quickly murders Del with a shot to the carotid artery. Farr is taken to the killers basement surrounded by fire torches. Stone breaks the case when he compares a TV guide found at the Del death scene with his home. The ripped out portion matches Angel Of Death and the actor's name Gregory Praxas.The name matches a gas receipt Gregory Praxas had in his possession. Stone & Keller ask Praxas questions and discover a lie. Praxas is revealed to be a psychotic, ritualistic style killer over several years. They find several souvenirs from his victims including a boot that solves another case. Praxas wore several disguises bearded and otherwise to escape detection. I would give the Streets SF Pilot 2 1/2 stars. A star for Robert Wagner and a good cast. JC

Added: Thursday 10 August 2017 13:58:40 MST

Submitted byName: Mr. MikeFrom: Vancouver

Comments:No Badge for Benjy:

This episode was quite good. William Watson, who plays an SFPD detective, is hyper as usual.

This is a two for one show, the cops are on the case of some Japanese businessman who got knocked off. I think they proved that the American owner of the company killed him because of issues to do with the transfer of the business. But this plot line is just left hanging.

The woman who played Benjy's daughter was really good, she had a real attitude like "now you are giving lots of attention to my father because he is all shot up (and later, dead)." She reminded me of Nichelle Nichols playing a tough-assed take-no-shit mama in charge of a stable of "hos" in the blaxploitation movie Truck Turner. (Look this up on YouTube, your eyes will pop -- this is no Uhura!)

Anthony James, the psycho-looking guy from The Guarnerius Caper and the villain from the movie In the Heat of the Night plays a bad guy in this Benjy show. I don't totally understand this guy's connection to the plot. Benjy had James' phone number, because he got a tip from him about a shipment of drugs, but why would James give him this information? Maybe because they wanted to knock off Benjy anyway, and this was an easy way to do this, because they knew he would try and pass this information along to the cops?

I also watched the episode "Men Will Die" again, and liked it more than the first time I saw it. This show is about rape. Vera Miles plays a lawyer who defends rape victims who is very cynical about their treatment by the justice system. The epilog for this show is full of horrible cliched lines, definitely one of the "suckier" endings.

Added: Thursday 10 August 2017 10:46:12 MST

Submitted byName: John ChergiFrom: Pittsburgh PA

Comments:Streets Of San Francisco Pilot (1972) ReviewI finally watched the Streets of SF pilot episode with Keller & Stone. The episode focuses on the death of young woman Holly Jean Berry and the prime suspect David Farr a lawyer played by legend Robert Wagner. Holly was found face down dead in the bay by a male jogger and his dog. She was wearing a David J. Farr business card laminated around her neck. They met at a party although I don't see what attracted David to Holly. She wasn't that sexy and wore a printed dress. There's also a good 15+ year age difference. Farr makes an ID of her body and explains to Keller and Stone that he was her lawyer when she wrecked her car on the freeway ramp. They found some grass on her at the hospital. She needed some representation. Farr has flashbacks remembering his time with Holly including their physical and sexual encounters. Keller & Stone visit the coroner who explains Holly was killed by a blow to the carotid artery. It wasn't a drowning and no sexual assault. Keller & Stone wonder if Holly's murder fits into a series of murders in SF. End Of Part I. JC

Added: Wednesday 09 August 2017 15:20:32 MST

Submitted byName: Mr. MikeFrom: Vancouver

Comments:With regard to the stamp episode:

>There would be a small number of rare stamp collectors in SF and only a few people would know Mr. Sturdevant had the unique stamp.

But Hawkins the stamp expert says words to the effect that >no one< knows who really has the stamp, that is part of its "mystique."

>That would include the 3 appraisers and the insurance company.

The guy who created the policy died two months before. The appraisers are unknown on the policy, and there is no way to figure out who they are, according to Conway. When Conway is seen stealing the stamps, he switches the original policy with one from his pocket, where presumably this information has been altered. He would have the capability of adjusting these things at the office, because he is the "investigator" on the case and was the one who set up the whole scheme from the beginning.

Added: Tuesday 08 August 2017 08:01:54 MST

Submitted byName: Mr. MikeFrom: Vancouver

Comments:The SOSF episode (S04E04) "Men Will Die," starring Vera Miles is about rape. There is something majorly dumb about this episode.

When Stone and Keller go to talk to the woman who witnessed a previous rape in Golden Gate Park (the rapist is suspected of being the Michael Parks character, who raped Stone's daughter Jeannie's friend in the current show; the raped woman in the earlier show later died), she is shown ONE picture, that of Parks.

Later, when Jeannie goes to the restaurant where the woman works to talk to her because she was not co-operative with Stone earlier, the same procedure is repeated, that she shows the woman ONE picture of Parks, which the woman finally identifies, calling him "scum."

But you can't have someone make an identification like this with only ONE PICTURE. You must show them a picture "lineup," and they have to pick the bad guy out of several.

So, what will happen is that the case against Parks, if it is based on the woman identifying one picture, will be thrown out of court, just like many other cases involving rapists where there is insufficient evidence or other "technicalities" which cause the criminal to get off!

Added: Tuesday 08 August 2017 07:51:14 MST

Submitted byName: John ChergiFrom: Pittsburgh PA

Comments:I like Stamp Of Death. It has some Flash Of Color, Flash Of Death quality to it in that you learn that opals are registered and each unique are like fingerprints. The uniqueness of the $300,000 stamp in this episode helps narrow the possible suspect pool. Maybe, I'm biased because I like Earl Holliman and Jessica Walter as actors. They fit well together here. I guess the question is Why Kill Sturdevant? Conway has the stamp in question and with all the party guests...There would be many possible suspects. This is a process of elimination type episode. There would be a small number of rare stamp collectors in SF and only a few people would know Mr. Sturdevant had the unique stamp. That would include the 3 appraisers and the insurance company. In this respect, Stamp Of Death paints itself in a corner. The average burglar or thief might have just left the stamp. There are also questions Mr. Mike asked like how did Conway know Sturdevant kept the stamp hidden in that safe. He easily could have moved it or placed it in a safety deposit box. There's also a printer knock off similar to For A Million Why Not? It might have been more suspenseful if they had asked a ransom for the stamp and Sturdevant dropped the money at a certain location. How To Steal A Masterpiece style. Stamp Of Death a solid 2 1/2 stars. JC

Added: Monday 07 August 2017 13:13:29 MST

Submitted byName: Mr. MikeFrom: Vancouver

Comments:SOSF S02E06 - "The Stamp of Death" review:

http://thestreetsofsanfrancisco.info/sosf-2.htm#6

(I really went to town on this one...)

Added: Sunday 06 August 2017 18:31:13 MST

Submitted byName: Mr. MikeFrom: Vancouver

Comments:I don't think Nelson is miscast. As I indicated in my review, this episode is already pretty rank, so the writer probably resisted making Nelson into some kind of Charles Manson-like guru.